Entire villages wiped out as death toll climbs

A photo of the destruction in Samoa following today's tsunami. Photo / Supplied

Whole villages on the Samoan coast have reportedly been wiped out by this morning's tsunami.

Health workers in Samoa reported over 100 dead with many more missing or unaccounted for, following this morning's 8.3 magnitude earthquake and powerful tsunami. That number is expected to soar.

Horror Stories

Horror stories are emerging of the scene along the Samoan coastline.

One nzherald.co.nz reader received a short-wave radio message from relatives in the low-lying village of Salesatele, saying that "37 bodies have been found".

New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale was leveled.

"It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out," Ansell told New Zealand's National Radio from a hill near Samoa's capital, Apia.

"There's not a building standing. We've all clambered up hills, and one of our party has a broken leg. There will be people in a great lot of need 'round here."

An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies of about 20 victims in a hospital on the main island of Upolu and said the surrounding tourist coast was devastated.

An unspecified number of fatalities and injuries were reported in the Samoan village of Talamoa.

Interactive map of the affected area

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Hampered by power and communications outages, officials are struggling to assess the casualties and damage.

New Zealander Scott Mulholland, a telecommunications worker in the Samoan capital of Apia, says the death toll is rising by the hour.

"The big thing is now more bodies are washing up," he told Newstalk ZB. "The last count that I heard - there's been over 100 found on the southern coast. And they are expecting more."